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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Gunmen attack Russian synagogues, Texas woman allegedly attempted to drown Palestinian girl, lawsuit claims U.N. led scheme to divert money to Hamas, new book says Trump joked about Nazis killing Jews in ovens, North Carolina could get its first Jewish governor, and Jerry Seinfeld mocks pro-Palestinian hecklers at second Australia show.

 OUR LEAD STORY

Audrey Glickman, who survived the attack at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life, in front of a hull of the building at a groundbreaking ceremony Sunday for a new complex to be built on the site. (Benyamin Cohen)

‘The tree is still growing’: At the site of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, Tree of Life breaks ground on its future

I traveled to Pittsburgh Sunday where hundreds of invited guests and dignitaries — including Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman of the United States — kicked off construction of a new facility for Tree of Life. The shul, founded during the Lincoln administration, is celebrating its 160th anniversary this week.

The past: “The congregation is like a big tree and giant limbs have recently been chopped off, but the tree is still growing,” said Audrey Glickman, who was leading services that fateful 2018 Shabbat morning and survived by racing to another room and hiding under a prayer shawl. Glickman opened the ceremony Sunday by defiantly blowing the shofar.

The present: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer was the master of ceremonies at the groundbreaking, which ended with a shattering of a glass — usually associated with the conclusion of a Jewish wedding. The pieces were collected and will ultimately end up in mezuzah cases that will guard the doors of the new building. Said Carole Zawatasky, who is spearheading the rebuilding: “It will forever be a reminder of our obligation to pick up the shards of our broken world.”

The future: The new 45,000-square-foot facility is set to open in late 2026 and will house a museum about the history of antisemitism in America, classrooms for lectures about countering hate, a space for kosher-catered events and the sanctuary for Tree of Life.

ISRAEL AT WAR

Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages demonstrated Saturday in Tel Aviv. (Getty)

After IDF troops in Rafah razed a Hamas training facility, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is winding down the current phase of the war in Gaza and that he could accept a partial hostage deal with the terror group…

Opinion | The 5 biggest questions facing Israel as it seeks to end the war: “Completely taking out Hamas and rescuing the hostages may be incompatible goals,” writes our columnist Dan Perry. Up north, a new war is brewing with Hezbollah, which “credibly threatens to target Tel Aviv with Iranian-supplied rockets.” Meanwhile, there are internal schisms within Israel, which threaten to topple the current government. And all of this serves as the backdrop for Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S. next month. Read his essay ➤

First in Forwarding: The United Nations “led a billion-dollar money laundering operation that funded Hamas” and has long prevented humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to a lawsuit filed this morning in a federal court by survivors and family of the Oct. 7 victims.

Saturday was the 20th birthday of Naama Levy, an Israeli hostage in Gaza.

A clash between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators Sunday outside Adas Torah, an Orthodox synagogue in Los Angeles. (Getty)

Around the world…

• Scattered violence and fist fights broke out Sunday outside a Los Angeles synagogue between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and pro-Israel counter-protesters.

  
  

• A Texas woman was arrested for attempted murder after she allegedly tried to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American girl in a swimming pool.

  
  

• Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat from New York, said at a campaign rally Saturday that AIPAC is “destroying our democracy.”

  
  

• Cuba said it is joining South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

  
  

• Jerry Seinfeld shut down another group of pro-Palestinian hecklers who had bought tickets to his concert on Saturday in Melbourne. A similar incident occurred last week at a performance in Sydney. Seinfeld told the protesters they “just gave more money to a Jew. That cannot be a good plan for you. You gotta come up with a better plan.”

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ALSO IN THE FORWARD

(iStock)

Google is answering search queries with AI now. What does that mean for Holocaust history? A new report warns that artificial intelligence may provide false information, so our Mira Fox decided to put Google’s AI platform to the test. She tried to goad it into telling her potentially misleading information that would’ve painted the Nazis in a more positive light. While it wasn’t perfect, it generally stuck to the facts and the horrors of the Holocaust.

Josh Stein — who would be North Carolina’s first Jewish governor — walks a tightrope on Israel-Gaza: Stein, the state’s attorney general who is running for higher office, came out strong in support of Israel after Oct. 7. But in the months since, many headlines were about divisions within the Democratic Party over Israel as well as pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. Republicans — including Stein opponent Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who has made antisemitic comments in the past — have sought to exploit this split. They’ve rebranded themselves as the real supporters of Israel, and called on Stein and other Democrats to criticize antisemitism in their own ranks.

Opinions…

While accepting her Tony Award, a playwright quoted the Talmudic dictum of “You are not obliged to finish the work but neither are you free to desist from it.” Our Jodi Rudoren gathered a team of rabbis to discuss.

Louisiana voted last week to require all public school classrooms display the Ten Commandments. Lara Crigger, a member of New Orleans’ Jewish community, argues that the state is “haphazardly translating” the laws, and the divine intent. Related: At a Saturday rally, former President Donald Trump endorsed the Louisiana decision, calling the Ten Commandments “incredible stuff.”

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

A woman walks past flowers in front of the representative office of Dagestan in Moscow on Monday, following terror attacks Sunday on churches and synagogues in the region. (Getty)

🇷🇺  “Gunmen attacked synagogues and churches in two cities in southern Russia on Sunday, killing multiple police officers and a priest,” reports The New York Times. The events happened in the region of Dagestan, where last October a mob rushed a plane that was arriving from Israel. (NYT, JTA)

💉  Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy recently doubled down on his claim that Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people were more immune to COVID-19. “This is a scientific study,” Kennedy said. “It’s not a racist statement. It’s just the truth.” (Jewish Insider)

😲  Before Donald Trump became president, he made jokes about Germans killing Jews in ovens, according to a former executive at the Trump organization. “Everybody was shocked,” said Barbara Res, who has written a new book about her 18 years working with Trump. (Daily Beast)

🇫🇷  Three assailants assaulted six Jewish minors Saturday outside a movie theater in Paris. Ahead of both the Olympics and national elections next month, France has seen an uptick in antisemitism. Last week, authorities indicted two 13-year-old boys on charges they raped a 12-year-old Jewish girl. (Times of Israel)

🇺🇦  Jewish leaders from six American cities met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine last week “to express the Jewish community’s continued commitment to supporting the country.” (Jewish Federations)

🎒 A Jewish family reached a settlement with a Nevada school district more than a year after their autistic son came home with a swastika scratched into his skin. (KVVU)

☀️  More than 1,300 people died during the Muslim pilgrimage festival of Hajj, many of them after walking in the sweltering heat in Saudi Arabia, where the temperature last week exceeded 120 degrees. (AP, NYT)

What else we’re reading ➤  Ben Stiller on why he can’t stay silent on the suffering in Israel and Gaza … With his steadfast support of Israel, is Sen. John Fetterman “trolling the left or offering a way forward for Democrats?” … These Jewish sandwiches define New York City.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

“This is not a film that could be shot at a movie studio,” Steven Spielberg said of his Oscar-winning Schindler’s List. To that end, Spielberg filmed at locations throughout Krakow, including in Schindler’s enamel factory. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the film, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski retraces the impact of the film on Jewish life in Poland in the video above.

Our culture reporter PJ Grisar rewatched Schindler’s List and writes that it’s darker — and braver — than we might remember.

One final thing: In honor of National Pralines Day, we’re remembering that time when Benjamin Netanyahu served chocolate pralines in a shoe to Japan’s Shinzo Abe.

Thanks to Lauren Markoe for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Beth Harpaz for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com.

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Reporting from the ground in Israel and campuses takes resources. Support the news that matters to you with a monthly donation.